Hand-held appliances such as mobile phones, audio equipment and personal care products are getting smaller due to miniaturization of components. At the same time, there is a need for a nicely decorated appearance of these appliances. In case it is desired to provide an appliance with a soft-touch grip section for realizing a grip effect, there is only little space for a decorative section, as a result of which the appliance is less appealing to consumers.
A well-known example of an appliance having a soft-touch grip section is an electric shaver which is intended to be used in wet environments such as a shower. In many cases, in order to prevent a user of the shaver from losing grip on the shaver, which may even lead to a situation in which the shaver falls on the ground and gets damaged, a section of the shaver is covered by a rubber-like material. The presence of this material enables the user to have a firmer grip on the shaver, even when the user's hands are wet and/or the shaver is wet.
In some cases, the soft-touch grip section of an appliance is locally decorated, for instance by means of a process known as pad printing. However, it is not possible to cover the whole surface of the soft-touch grip section, especially when this section and the surface have a curved shape.
A well-known technique for decorating an element is known as in-mold labeling or insert molding. This is a labeling technique which has many applications, and which, among other things, is suitable to be used for labeling injection molded products. For the purpose of carrying out a labeling process, an in-mold label is provided, which has a heat activated adhesive applied on it. The labeling process comprises the steps of placing the in-mold label in a mold; closing the mold; and injecting molten plastic material into the mold. In the process, the heat from the plastic activates the adhesive, causing the label to adhere to the plastic product. According to the state of the art, when the in-mold labeling technique is used for decorating an element which also needs to be provided with a soft-touch grip section, this section is provided outside of the decorated area of the element.